Keep horses and riders safe with a well-constructed riding ring
Whether you're a rural homeowner with a penchant for horses or operating an equestrian training centre in the Ottawa region, building a riding ring can be a large investment. You want to ensure that your ring will last for many years while providing a great, safe experience for both riders and mounts.
Correct horse riding ring construction starts with selecting a site with good natural drainage. We begin by excavating and compacting a sub-base, incorporating a drainage system that takes into consideration the quality of your soil, and installing a layer of suitable aggregate stone. Ideally, a layer of water-permeable geotextile fabric should cover the base to keep the layers separated, enhance drainage and deter weeds. A layer of arena sand is installed and compacted to meet tight tolerances and avoid soft spots that can lead to injuries in your animals, and ready for the installation of horse arena footing material.
Strathmar's GPS and laser-guided grading systems allow us to create a riding ring base that allows water to drain quickly; you'll be able to ride earlier in the spring on a surface your horses and riders will love.
We can also work on indoor riding rings! Our laser-controlled systems mean that we can grade surfaces under cover, where GPS won't work.
Talk to Strathmar Landscape Construction about your equestrian project.
We chose to work with Strathmar because Carter’s an awesome guy to work with. I’d worked with him before in various industries and knew that he had the expertise to do the drainage work and riding ring construction we needed. Our expectations are exceeded every time he works for us. He brings great ideas. He’s intrinsically involved in the ongoing development of our project.
When we were building the riding rings at Wesley Clover Parks, we brought in a fellow who has provided footing for world level equestrian shows. Carter suggested a really innovative way to build rings that was faster to build and less expensive than the traditional way; it’s worked very, very well for us.
Carter's knowledge of drainage is outstanding and he always has practical solutions. It doesn't necessarily have to be a highly technical solution, but he's a very practical thinker. He's very much about doing things right the first time and thinking about the long-term goals of the company. He builds things that are easy to build and functional, but can also last forever.
We started renovating one of the rings and it turned out to have been built on three feet of imported clay and there was no way to really stabilize it. So we had to essentially build a ring on top of a water bed of clay; Carter came up with a good way to do it that gave us drainage and still provided us with a ring.
Working with Strathmar is always outstanding. Carter’s got the mind for the onsite work and Cynthia puts the plans together, so they’re a full source company. At the end, they put together documentation with professional CAD drawings showing how everything was built.
What I enjoy most is the ease of working with Carter and his people. They don't make any project difficult. They truly do try to make it easier. And they're always accommodating in terms of times and days. They're just very pleasant people to work with.
Carter is honestly one of the best people I've ever worked with. He's just the nicest guy and he really, truly pours his heart and soul into every single project he touches. It doesn't matter how little it is. As he's working, he notices details that need correcting that aren’t even part of the project and he fixes them because it's the right thing to do. He’s a class act all the way.
Strathmar uses the latest digital technology in landscape construction to deliver precisely graded surfaces efficiently, saving landscape architects and general contractors time, materials and money on the job site.
